White House
Preserved but no longer current.
The presidential mansion in Washington, D.C. It is a building of freestone, painted white. The cornerstone was laid by Washington, and the house was remodelled in 1902. Figuratively, it means the Presidency of the U.S.A.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Examples
Tatoeba sentence #3491809 (CC BY 2.0 FR, tatoeba.org, retrieved 2026-07-31)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “White House” mean?
The presidential mansion in Washington, D.C. It is a building of freestone, painted white. The cornerstone was laid by Washington, and the house was remodelled in 1902. Figuratively, it means the Presidency of the U.S.A.
Is “White House” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.